The present invention deals with an improved fuel-air explosive canister which is used solely for experimental purposes. Said fuel-air explosive canister apparatus may be built using readily available, inexpensive materials. The present invention employs conventional, plastic soft drink bottles, such as those set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,309, issued to Wyeth et al. Use of these materials makes experimentation in the fuel-air explosive art easily attainable and cost efficient.
Difficulties associated with combustible fuel-air dispersion devices include the extensive, for example machine shop, work required for the manufacture and assembly of fuel-air explosive devices. Moreover, prior art fuel-air explosive devices generally were constructed using various amounts of metal and/or glass materials. Use of these materials can cause danger of fragmentation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,602, issued to Gey et al., teaches a method and apparatus for delivering biological and chemical warfare agents using fuel-air explosive. The teaching is silent as to the composition of the delivery system per se. General mention is made to the use of canisters in the employ of said invention. Specific canisters, however, which may be employed by Gey et al. have not been set forth. Moreover, the teaching is not directed to fuel-air experimental devices. Nor is Gey et al. directed to a device having as basic a structure as the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,093, issued to Cummings, teaches a fuel-air explosive weapon improved by its use of implosion. Applicant is unaware of any fuel-air weapon, to date, which employs implosion. One of the numerous fuels which may be employed therein is propylene oxide. The preferred embodiment employs a cylindrical plastic container which has a circular bottom end plate and a top plate, each of which may be composed of various metallic materials. Moreover, the device further requires the presence of a layer of high explosives around the housing of the fuel-air explosive device. The device taught therein is more complex than that employed by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,928, issued to Falterman et al., relates to improved fuels for fuel-air explosive weapons. The fuel-air explosive device described employs a metallic container. The teaching is silent as to the use of plastic containers, not to mention the employ of conventional, plastic beverage bottles. The reference concentrates on the composition of the fuel employed therein.
Well known fuel-air type devices are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,169, issued to Gay et al. The devices taught contain two separate, sealed, concentrically arranged chambers. Within the central chamber is housed a low brisance explosive. The device is primarily constructed of metallic materials. The device taught by Gay et al. requires more operating component parts than that of the present invention. The complexity of the present invention is nowhere near that of Gay et al.
The closest prior art teaching is set forth in Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) Number H161, issued to the inventor of the present invention. SIR H161 teaches a scaled down testing of explosive chemicals using a small fuel-air explosive plastic bottle. The bottle holds 264 ml of liquid fuel; it has a threaded cap with a hole running through its center to facilitate electrical wires from a detonator; and employs a centrifuge tube having a flange lip for a seal. The teaching therein does not employ readily available materials--264 ml bottles, threaded caps having a hole, etc.
The present invention employs readily available materials which may be unobviously combined to form the present invention. The fuel-air explosive device herein may be assembled without employing, for instance, complex machine shop equipment or welding. In addition, the construction of the present invention is devoid of metal and glass materials, hence the hazard associated with the fragmentation of the apparatus is reduced, if not eliminated.
The present invention provides for a non-complex, fuel-air explosive device intended solely for experimental purposes.